Lex Luger says Sting belongs in WWE, why he avoided it

Former WCW, WWE, and TNA star “The Total Package” Lex Luger stepped IN THE ROOM with Brady Hicks for nearly an hour on Tuesday night, January 28, 2014. This episode streamed live on the VOC Nation Radio Network on vocnation.com and thebradyhicks.com. Topics included this year’s Royal Rumble and fans’ disappointment, the prospect of a Lex Luger comeback, how “fair” it is for fans to put over The Undertaker at WrestleMania, his health, never winning the WWE title, and his past use of performance-enhancing drugs.Listen to the entire interview at http://cts.vresp.com/c/?VOCNationLLC/598db1c34a/aa71ef24cc/85f0cd5cbf

His Royal Rumble “Tie” with Bret Hart in 1994:

“What was going through my head? #1 that we could pull it off. #2 that I could go over the top rope, backwards, while holding on to him and that I didn’t crack my skull open in the process. My arms are wrapped around him [and] it’s not the most comfortable feeling. I was concerned for my safety.”

Being Backstage in WCW (and WWE):

“I was never involved in the decision-making in wrestling. I was never involved in the backroom talk, as far as that goes with the planning of wrestling. I was never a storyline guy at all …”

Why Sting Belongs in WWE, and Why He Has Always Avoided It:

“[Sting] felt comfortable in WCW and they always took care of him all those years, so really when WCW and WWE were coexisting he never really felt a compelling reason or time in his career where he thought if he went to WWE that there would be a huge positive move for him. I can’t say that I disagree … [With that said] I don’t think anyone could orchestrate the ending part of [Sting’s] career better than WWE could. They’re just so good at that. Whether it’s a Hall of Fame bid or a match with The Undertaker I would LOVE, LOVE LOVE to see that happen personally. I think it would be the cherry on top for his career.”

Thoughts on The Undertaker’s WrestleMania Streak:

“I was brought in by Matsuda to always be professional, don’t ever question finishes. If a guy like Undertaker [wanted to beat me at WrestleMania], I wouldn’t have had any problem putting him over, especially at WrestleMania. I understand … that some guys might be frustrated but I don’t understand what they would be frustrated about. It’s one match in a career. If you have confidence in yourself, your career, and the big picture as far as where you’re going, I don’t think it hurts at all to put Undertaker over at WrestleMania.”

The WrestleMania X “Drunk” Story and Rumored Changes:

“I didn’t know what the plan was as far as what was to be the finish that day. I never got involved in that kind of stuff. There were rumors – crazy stuff – that I knew the finish. My reputation, and sure I deserved a lot of the rumors back then, [was] that I was drunk at a bar and telling people I was going to be champion. Where did they get this stuff from? I’ve done so much crazy stuff in my career. I didn’t have to make stuff up. I was like 100 miles away with my family the night before WrestleMania. I wasn’t anywhere near what they said. It was a crazy kind of rumor. Go figure, wrestling, right?”

That Dark Road:

“We’re all sad about that. I think it’s getting much better. It’s a much healthier atmosphere in WWE and with pro wrestling. Nothing can ever be 100%. We’d love to see nobody battle with [demons] but stuff happens in people’s lives, you know? We’d love to make it all where it never happened but I think it’s vastly improved now. We also see a lot of cases now of guys who are getting it back together who we were all very concerned about. So it’s not all negative. There are a few stories – we’ve lost a lot of our comrades and good friends way before they should have been with that whole ‘work hard, play hard’ [mindset] of my era and a lot of the mistakes that we made. A lot of us paid dearly for it. NONE of us want that to be the legacy that we left.”

Being the Next Hulk Hogan:

“To me it’s flattering for anyone to say I’m the next Hulk Hogan. There is only one Hulk Hogan. No one could ever, unless it was an extraordinary circumstance, ever even come close to something like that so. In my career I was very confident in myself and what I had, talent-wise, and I think I had a good career. But to even be mentioned in the same breath as the next Hogan, I was flattered by that. I couldn’t have lived up to that and I don’t know that anyone could.”

Frequent Heel/Face Turns:

“Behind the scenes, I was kind of the guy … I was proud that I was able to pull that off. A lot of guys might not have been able to. At the time, if one of the top three babyfaces or heels would get injured, people don’t realize that they’d switch me. [They] were like ‘So-and-so got hurt. What are we going to do? Let’s switch Lex.’ And when the first heel went down, they’d switch me back heel … All those changes, it was actually sort of a compliment that I was the type of character that could be either an arrogant bad guy or be a confident good guy and kind of pull it off with some kind of credibility. Would I have been able to sustain it for longer periods of time as a good guy or a bad guy? I guess I’ll never know but I’m not complaining. I was like the utility All Star.”

IN THE ROOM with Brady Hicks streams live Tuesday nights, 9PM ET on the VOC Nation IN THE ROOM Radio Network on vocnation.com, as well as thebradyhicks.com.

The VOC Nation Radio Network was born out of AM Radio in Philadelphia, and has grown into one of the largest and most successful modern media networks in the world.

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